Updated February 19, 2015: 23andMe provides
ancestry-related genetic reports and uninterpreted raw genetic
data only. We intend to add some health-related genetic reports
in the future once we have a comprehensive product offering. At
this time, we do not know which health reports might be
available or when they might be available. For more information,
please go to the health page.
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Join 10,000 participants
with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Genetics and IBD.

At 23andMe, we believe genetic data plays a critical
role in research. Knowing more about how genetics relate
to a disease can provide additional information on how
people might respond to treatments, which may eventually
lead to a cure.

Today, there are very few medications for Inflammatory
Bowel Disease (IBD), a chronic, inflammatory disease of
the gastrointestinal tract (the two main diseases of IBD
are Ulcerative colitis
and Crohn's disease). Maintaining
the quality of daily life can be a challenge. It is not
known which medications will be effective on
individuals and some IBD medications stop working over
time. There is very little those diagnosed with IBD can
do and often times, surgery becomes the only solution
available.

We believe DNA may play a critical role in IBD treatment.
Genetics has started playing a larger role in medicine
over the past few years. And genetics could provide
insight as to why some people are more likely to get IBD
and why people respond differently to treatment options
and drugs.

Our goal.

To find a better way to treat IBD through genetics.
By partnering with Pfizer (a manufacturer developing
new drugs to treat IBD) on this first study, we will
work together to learn how your genes and your
environment could play a role in IBD drug treatment,
and how they relate to IBD risk and progression.

Our research objective is to understand the genetic
associations found between IBD patients' DNA and
their disease, and apply this understanding to
Pfizer's drug development efforts.

What makes us different.

Traditional research studies may involve out-of-home
blood tests, visits to clinics, nurse practitioner
calls, local research facility visits and even drug
trials. And, if you don't live close to a research
facility, you may not even have the opportunity to
participate. Geography alone can slow down research and
ultimately, better treatment.

23andMe believes everyone who wants to participate in
research should be able to participate in research.

Participate without leaving your home and, it takes
just fifteen minutes.

With this study you complete a 15-minute online survey
and provide a saliva
sample.

And finally, what also makes us different
is your ability to participate in future
IBD studies around the world. Your information will go into more
IBD studies after our first partnership with Pfizer.
We believe researchers and scientists around the world
should have access to information, which can lead to,
and accelerate, better treatment.

Your participation.

If you are eligible to participate, we will send you a
23andMe DNA-saliva kit at no cost. We will ask you to
answer a short online survey (15 minutes) about your
personal IBD journey, symptoms, response to treatments,
etc. Your privacy is important to us and participation
is
anonymous.

Participation is Anonymous

Benefits for participants.

You will receive access to 23andMe's Personal Genome
Service® (valued at $99)

You will learn about your genetic ancestry.

You will have access to your uninterpreted genetic
data.

Our promise to you.

We promise quarterly updates on our recruiting progress
and promise to answer questions you may have throughout
the study. As we grow our participant base and analyze
the data, there may be additional opportunities to
participate in surveys. If you would like to continue
your participation, you will have the opportunity to
provide ongoing contributions. We will communicate any
additional survey opportunities in the quarterly updates
and in your 23andMe.com profile dashboard.

We believe your genetic data can be used
for good.

We believe Pfizer has access to great scientists and
physicians in this field.
They have a lot of experience
in developing drugs to help people.

No one can promise a cure or a treatment, but we promise
to be transparent in our research efforts and to empower
other researchers and scientists with IBD genetic data
in a time when resources and funding can be scarce.

We believe your genetic data can be used for good.

See if you're eligible.

IBD is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon
and small intestine. People who have been diagnosed with
Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis are eligible for
this study.

In order to participate in the first study within the
IBD community, you must meet all six criteria below:

You've been diagnosed with Crohn's disease or
ulcerative colitis by a qualified physician.

If you are a current 23andMe customer, learn how you
can participate
here.

Our scientific advisors.

We believe IBD experts from around the world can help
play a critical role in our IBD research community.

We've selected five advisors with a range of IBD
expertise globally. They are not part of 23andMe or
Pfizer (or any other study partner). They are experts
in the IBD field and their experience can range from
seeing patients to being a part of cutting edge
research. They assist us with survey
development, data analysis and help guide our research
so our goals are unbiased, not self-serving.

One of our research advisors, Dr. Smarr, suffers from
IBD which fuels his drive to search for a better treatment.

Dermot McGovern, MD, Ph.D,
FRCP, is Director of Translational Medicine and Professor
of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles. Dr McGovern is the Endowed Chair in
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Genetics and serves
on the Steering Committee of the NIDDK IBD Genetics
Consortium, the Management Committee of the
International IBD Genetics Consortium, and the
National Scientific Advisory Board of the Crohn's and
Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). Dr McGovern
completed his clinical training with a focus on
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in Oxford, UK
and holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford
on IBD Genetics. Dr McGovern's research has been
instrumental in identifying many of the known IBD
genes and as an IBD clinician he is particularly
interested in translating these genetic findings to
the clinic through the development of models that
predict disease behavior and response to therapy as
well as identifying new areas for the development of
treatments for both Crohn's disease and ulcerative
colitis.

Nir Modiano, MD, Ph.D,
is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and
Gastroenterology and serves as Director of the
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Oregon Health
and Science University, where he is an assistant
Professor of Medicine in the Division of
Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He obtained a
Bachelor's degree, advanced graduate training in
Immunology, and his medical degree at Yale. He then
completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at
Stanford University, his Gastroenterology Fellowship
at UCLA, and his advanced Fellowship training in IBD
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His interest in the
cultural dimensions of patient care has led him to
work at a hospital in Botswana, Africa and in the
Indian Health Service as part of his training, and
to lead a course on The Healer's Art. His scientific
experience spans molecular, clinical, and genetic
research modalities, and his recent research
interests include identifying genetic subtypes of
Crohn's disease and investigating new treatment and
diagnostic modalities in Crohn's disease and
Ulcerative Colitis.

William Sandborn, MD, completed medical school
and an internal medicine
residency at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda
California. He completed a gastroenterology
fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota
in 1993. From 1993-2010, he was on the faculty of the
Mayo Clinic, rising to Professor of Medicine, Vice
Chairman of the Division of Gastroenterology and
Hepatology, and Associate Dean of Research for
Intellectual Property and Industry Relations. In 2011
he became Professor of Clinical Medicine at the
University of California San Diego and Director of the
IBD Center and Chief of the Division of
Gastroenterology for the UC San Diego Health System.
Dr. Sandborn has published over 444 peer
reviewed articles including articles in the
New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, JAMA,
the Annals of Internal Medicine, and Gastroenterology.
His research interests are clinical trials and
clinical pharmacology related to inflammatory bowel
disease.

Larry Smarr, Ph.D,
is the founding Director of Calit2, the California
Institute for Telecommunications and Information
Technology (a UC San Diego/UC Irvine partnership,)
and holds the Harry E. Gruber professorship in the
Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
of UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering. He is a
member of the National Academy of Engineering, as
well as a Fellow of the American Physical Society
and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In
2006 he received the IEEE Computer Society Tsutomu
Kanai Award for his lifetime achievements in
distributed computing systems. He serves on the NASA
Advisory Council to the NASA Administrator, the DOE
ESnet Policy Board, and chairs the NSF Advisory
Committee on Cyberinfrastructure. For 8 years he was
a member of the NIH Advisory Committee to the NIH
Director, serving 3 directors. He served as PI of the
NSF OptIPuter project and for the last 7 years he has
been the PI of the Moore Foundation CAMERA global
microbial metagenomics computational repository. You
can follow him at
http://lsmarr.calit2.net

Jeroen Raes, Ph.D,
is a professor of microbiology and immunology at K.U.
Leuven in Belgium, a group leader at Brije Universiteit
Brussel, and a partial faculty member at the Free University
of Brussels. He received a Ph.D. from Gent University and
did his postdoctoral work at the European Molecular Biology
Laboratory. Dr. Raes developed computational techniques to
analyze metagenomic sequence data for the discovery of
genomic, phylogenetic, functional and ecological properties
of microbial communities. Dr. Raes's lab works on the analysis
and system-level characterization of microbial communities
using next-generation sequencing and metagenomics. They are
currently analyzing the composition and variability of the
human intestinal microbiota in health and disease. They have
optimized clinical sample extraction for gut metagenomics
and developed novel ways to identify predictive biomarkers
in metagenomics data and reconstruct gut metabolic and
functional profiles occuring after gut ecosystem shifts.

FAQ and other resources.

What is the 23andMe IBD Study?

The goal of this study is to answer two main
questions:

Why do people get IBD? Are there genetic
factors that contribute to the cause and
severity of IBD?

How should people be treated? Do genes
influence different responses to
medications or other treatment?

Currently, the cause of IBD is unknown,
but previous research suggests that there is
a strong genetic component. The 23andMe
web-based platform enables a large group
of individuals with IBD to come together
to provide valuable information for
research, including genetic information
(using DNA from saliva) and information
about each participant's unique
experiences with the disease (using
responses from online surveys).

What does it mean to be a research subject in
the IBD Study?

There are many aspects to being a research
subject. We have summarized the most
important ones below. If you have more
questions, you can contact us at
ibd-help@23andme.com

What will I be asked to do?
We will ask you to provide a DNA sample
(from your saliva) for genetic analysis.
We will keep this saliva/DNA stored in our
laboratory. We will also ask you to
complete a number of online surveys about
IBD. These could include questions about
your diagnosis, treatment, symptoms,
medications or family history. We will
email you to let you know when to take
surveys, and may send reminders if you
haven't finished all the available surveys.

How will 23andMe use my data?
We will use your data to answer two
main questions:

Why do people get IBD? Are there genetic
factors that contribute to the cause and
severity of IBD?

How should people be treated? Do genes
influence different responses to
medications or other treatment?

Put more simply, are there genetic factors
that contribute to the cause and severity
of IBD and do genes influence different
responses to medications or other treatment?

We will compare your genetic data and your
survey answers with the genetic data and
survey answers of the other research
subjects. This allows us to see if certain
genetic factors are linked to specific
features of IBD.

As part of this study,
23andMe may share your de-identified,
individual-level data with qualified research
partners. The shared
data will be stripped of all identifying
components (name, email, address, user ID
and password). You are anonymous to Pfizer
and other partners in the future.

What are the risks of being a research
subject?

Being a research subject means that
23andMe and our qualified research
partners store your genetic
information and survey answers.
If a security breach occurred,
your data could be leaked.
Please refer to
How do you protect
the confidentiality of my data?
for more information about this risk.

If you are not already a 23andMe
customer, you may learn information
about yourself that you do not
anticipate (e.g., your father is
not genetically your father,
surprising facts related to your
ancestry).

What do I need to do to participate?

Take an online survey by signing
in to your 23andMe account (15
minutes)

Will there be more opportunities to contribute
to IBD research?

Our first IBD study with Pfizer includes
an initial 15-minute survey for all
participants to take after enrollment. As
we grow our participant base and start to
look at the data, there may be an
opportunity to participate in additional
surveys to enhance the research. If you
would like to continue your participation
in Pfizer's first study, or future IBD
studies with 23andMe, you will have the
opportunity to provide ongoing contributions
to our IBD research efforts.

We will communicate any additional survey
opportunities in the quarterly updates and
in your 23andMe.com profile dashboard.

What are the advantages of participating in
this research?

Take a direct role in research that
may benefit you and other patients
with IBD

Participate in web-based research
from the comfort of your own home

Be kept informed quarterly on
study progress

Why is this study helpful to IBD research?

We believe that this study will enhance research
for IBD by:

Bringing together a large group of
people who have IBD to better
understand how genes may influence
age of diagnosis, disease progress,
symptoms, and different responses
to treatments.

Expanding access to people who want
to participate in research from home.

Removing some of the time and cost
barriers that can slow progress in
other types of studies.

What is the 23andMe Personal Genome Service®?

As part of your participation in this
research study, you will receive
complimentary access to 23andMe's Personal
Genome Service® (PGS). The Personal Genome
Service® provides you with your unique
personal genetic profile, including your
uninterpreted genetic data and information
about your ancestry. Reports and features
are updated on an ongoing basis as research
uncovers new ways in which genetics relates
to ancestry.

How long will I have access to 23andMe's
Personal Genome Service®?

Your account will continue to receive ancestry
updates as long as the genetic information
referenced in those updates is among the data
generated by your original DNA sample. If a
future feature or report relies on DNA results
not included in your initial analysis, access
to that feature or report would require
upgrading to the next platform. Any future
upgrades beyond the current technology are not
included as a benefit to participation.

Who owns my DNA profile?

You own your genetic data. You will be
participating in this research at your own
discretion, answering surveys as you wish.
You can also withdraw at any time. However,
your saliva sample, once submitted to and
analyzed by 23andMe, is processed in an
irreversible manner and cannot be returned
to you.

Will you share my genetic data with third
parties?

To increase the chance that meaningful
scientific discoveries about your condition are
made, 23andMe may share your
de-identified, individual-level data with
qualified research partners, such as Pfizer. This
means, you are anonymous to Pfizer and anyone else
we partner with in the future (global
researchers, global scientists, etc).

The shared data will be stripped of all
identifying components (name, email, address,
user ID and password). If 23andMe shares your
genetic or self-reported data with a
qualified research partner, this action
cannot be undone and your data will not be
returned to 23andMe.

What does it mean for Pfizer to sponsor this
study?

We are working closely with Pfizer medical
experts to ensure that the right research
questions are being asked and with the
patient advocacy community to ensure that
patients' best interests are first and
foremost.

If a commercial product is developed from
this research, rights to the commercial
product will belong to 23andMe and/or
Pfizer and their collaborators (persons or
companies partnering with Pfizer). You and
your family will not receive any financial
benefits or compensation from or have any
rights in any developments, inventions, or
other discoveries that might come out of
this research.

How do you protect the confidentiality of my
data?

23andMe may share only your de-identified,
individual-level data with qualified research
partners. This means, you are anonymous to
Pfizer and anyone else we partner with in future
(global researchers, global scientists, etc.).

We built all of our systems to maximize protections
of individual level data, and we have a number of
safeguards in place to ensure confidentiality. All
data in the research computing environment are
disconnected from your contact or identifying
information and are coded with a unique research ID.

23andMe research scientists who have access to your
sensitive data (i.e. DNA results, survey responses)
do not have access to your account or contact information.
Conversely, 23andMe project managers who have access to
your contact information do not have access to your
sensitive individual-level data. Thus, it would be
extremely difficult for 23andMe employees or any external
party to link your individually identifying information
to your DNA results and survey response data.

A 100% guarantee in the field of information security does
not exist since there are always unknown threats. However,
we constantly update our security systems and protocols to
deal with new threats, as they become known. We can protect
against known factors by applying the best practices
developed by the information security community to protect
your data.

All 23andMe research is performed in a secure computing
environment with access restricted to research scientists and
system administrators. All 23andMe servers are protected by
technical, physical, and administrative procedures. Our
servers are monitored for unauthorized activity. Your
genetic data and sensitive account information such as
passwords are encrypted, as are all data transfers between
our servers and your computer(s).

23andMe will also have agreements with all research partners
regarding the security and storage of de-identified,
individual-level data that is shared outside 23andMe.
Although 23andMe cannot provide a 100% guarantee that your
data will be safe, 23andMe policies and procedures minimize
the chance that a breach could take place.

Will my 23andMe account be different from other
23andMe customers' accounts?

As a participant in the IBD Research Initiative,
you will receive lifetime access to the 23andMe
Personal Genome Service®, which includes
Information on ancestry and uninterpreted genetic data.
You will also receive updates on project-related
discoveries.

Your 23andMe profile will not be eligible to
create a Community nickname at this time. A
Community nickname is required to post, reply
to, or follow threads or to join Community
groups.

I am an existing 23andMe customer. Can I still
join the IBDResearch Initiative?

However, you CAN still contribute to IBD
research by filling out online surveys that
ask about things like IBD symptoms, medications
and treatments received. Click
here
to go to the
IBD survey and get started contributing to
research.

Our EU product is in English only, and due to applicable regulations it is only available for customers with a shipping address in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and the Netherlands. If you are shipping to one of these countries continue to the: EU site →

If you are shipping to England, Scotland or Wales visit the: UK site →

For other countries, the US product is available and can be shipped internationally from the: US site →

Our EU product is in English only, and due to applicable regulations it is only available for customers with a shipping address in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and the Netherlands. If you are shipping to one of these countries continue to the: EU site →